U.S. patent number 5,314,250 [Application Number 08/062,834] was granted by the patent office on 1994-05-24 for inflatable container.
Invention is credited to Ung L. Lee.
United States Patent |
5,314,250 |
Lee |
May 24, 1994 |
Inflatable container
Abstract
An inflatable container includes a plurality of vertical air
conduits, a horizontal air conduit, and a one-way valve. A
self-adhesive material may be formed on the container whereby upon
inflating the container, the container self-stands and can be
adhered to a wall or table.
Inventors: |
Lee; Ung L. (South Windsor,
CT) |
Family
ID: |
22045133 |
Appl.
No.: |
08/062,834 |
Filed: |
May 18, 1993 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
383/3; 383/104;
383/6; 383/93 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B65D
33/14 (20130101); B65D 33/007 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
B65D
33/14 (20060101); B65D 33/00 (20060101); B65D
033/00 () |
Field of
Search: |
;383/6,3,93,104
;220/420,426,428 ;206/522 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Shoap; Allan N.
Assistant Examiner: Pascua; Jes F.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Birch, Stewart, Kolasch &
Birch
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. An inflatable container of a number-sided hedron comprising:
a plurality of vertical air conduits disposed in at least one wall
of the container, said container having an upper open end;
a horizontal air conduit disposed around a perimeter of the upper
open end of said container and in communication with said plurality
of vertical conduits at opposing edges of each wall of the
container, said horizontal air conduit having at least three
passages of a smaller diameter than said horizontal air conduit and
disposed therein at corners of the container for bending the
horizontal air conduit in accordance with the number of said at
least three smaller diameter passages so as to form the number
sided-hedron during inflation; and
a one-way valve attached to said horizontal air conduit for
communicating with said plurality of vertical air conduits through
said horizontal air conduit, said one-way valve being provided with
a detachable air pump, whereby upon inflating, the inflatable
container is fully inflated by air-pumping through the one-way
valve from a folded position thereof so that the inflatable
container self-stands effectively.
2. The inflatable container according to claim 1, wherein said at
least one wall includes two confronting walls having said plurality
of vertical conduits formed therebetween.
3. The inflatable container according to claim 1, wherein said at
least one wall includes four inflatable walls, each of said at
least four inflatable walls including two confronting walls having
said plurality of vertical conduits formed therebetween.
4. The inflatable container according to claim 1, wherein said
smaller diameter passage numbers four.
5. The inflatable container according to claim 4, wherein said
smaller diameter passage numbers five.
6. The inflatable container according to claim 4, wherein said
smaller diameter passage numbers six.
7. The inflatable container according to claim 1, wherein said
number sided-hedron is provided with quilt sealing disposed at each
edge of the number sided-hedron.
8. The inflatable container according to claim 1, said inflatable
container further comprising:
a lower portion of said container free of horizontal air conduits,
whereby trash put into the inflatable container supports the upper
portion including the inflated air conduits of the container.
9. The inflatable container according to claim 1, said inflatable
container further comprising:
a pressure sensitive adhesive material disposed on the outer
surface of one side of said horizontal air conduit and a protective
strip for covering said pressure sensitive adhesive material and
preventing it from contacting and adhering to a surface, whereby
after removing the protective strip, the pressure sensitive
adhesive material is adhered to a wall or a lower portion of a
table or desk.
10. The inflatable container according to claim 1, said inflatable
container further comprising:
a pressure sensitive adhesive material disposed on at least half of
an inner surface portion of said opening of the container; and
a protective strip for covering said pressure sensitive adhesive
material and preventing it from contacting and adhering to a
surface, whereby after trash is put into the inflated container and
the protective strip is removed, the pressure sensitive adhesive
material is adhered to an opposite portion of said opening of the
container thereby sealing the container.
11. The inflatable container according to claim 1, wherein said at
least one wall includes two inflatable walls, each of said two
inflatable walls including two confronting walls having said
plurality of vertical conduits formed therebetween.
12. The inflatable container according to claim 1, wherein said
inflatable container is formed of a plastic material.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an inflatable container which
includes a plurality of vertical air conduits disposed in container
walls and a horizontal, annular air conduit disposed at an opening
thereof, and a one-way valve communicating with the vertical and
horizontal air conduits, whereby the air conduits are inflatable so
that the container stands automatically.
2. Description of Related Art
Generally, folded flat plastic bags are used to collect trash.
However, it is difficult to put the trash into the limp plastic
bags without some special additional support for the bag. Often,
another party must help hold open the bag or a special instrument
is used so as to open the opening of the plastic bag. Also, the
folded flat plastic bags may require a rigid trash can for
supporting the plastic bags. The rigid trash cans are not
disposable and usually must be hidden under a desk or table so that
it becomes uneconomical and spoils the beauty of ones
surroundings.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an
inflatable container, bag, and the like.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an inflatable
container which includes a plurality of vertical air conduits
disposed in confronting side walls, a horizontal, annular air
conduit disposed at the opening thereof, and a one-way valve
communicating with the vertical air conduits through the horizontal
air conduit whereby upon inflating the air conduits, the inflated
container stands automatically.
A further object of the present invention is to provide an
inflatable container which further includes a strip of
self-adhesive for adhering the container to a wall or a lower
portion of a table or desk.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide an
inflatable container which further includes an inflatable,
rectangular and horizontal air conduit having a smaller diameter
passage disposed at four corners, and a vertical corner quilt
sealing disposed at four vertical corners thereof for effectively
assisting self-standing while the container inflates.
Briefly described, the present invention relates to an inflatable
container which comprises a plurality of vertical air conduits, a
horizontal air conduit and a one-way valve, and a self-adhesive
material whereby upon inflating the container, the container is
self-standing and can be adhered to a wall or table.
Other objects and further scope of applicability of the present
invention will become apparent from the detailed description given
hereinafter. It should be understood, however, that the detailed
description and specific examples, while indicating preferred
embodiments of the invention, are given by way of illustration
only, since various changes and modification within the spirit and
scope of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the
art from this detailed description.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The present invention will become more fully understood from the
detailed description given hereinbelow and the accompanying
drawings which are given by way of illustration only, and thus are
not limitative of the present invention, and wherein
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an inflatable container according
to the present invention in a fully inflated position, showing in
cut away portions thereof the basic components of the present
invention;
FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of FIG. 1, taken
along line 2--2, showing a plurality of vertical air conduits
disposed in confronting walls of the inflated container according
to the present invention;
FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a horizontal air conduit in a fully
inflated position;
FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the horizontal air conduit in a
fully inflated position, showing automatic bending of a corner of
the container as result of a smaller diameter passage thereof;
FIG. 5 is a front view of the folded inflatable container according
to the present invention;
FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the inflated container employing
another preferred embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 7 is a sectional view of FIG. 1, taken along line 7--7,
showing the air flow within the container;
FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the inflated container with a strip
of self-adhesive employing a third preferred embodiment of the
present invention; and
FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the inflated container with a strip
of self-adhesive employing a fourth preferred embodiment of the
present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Referring now in detail to the drawings for the purpose of
illustrating preferred embodiments of the present invention, the
inflatable container 10 as shown in FIGS. 1, 2, and 3, comprises a
plastic bag 20 having a first wall 11, a second wall 12, a third
wall 13, a fourth wall 14, a bottom wall 15 and an upper opening
16, a plurality of vertical air conduits 17 disposed in confronting
walls such as the second and fourth walls 12 and 14 and/or the
first and third walls 11 and 13, and a horizontal, annular air
conduit 18 disposed at a perimeter of the opening 16 for
self-standing during inflation.
The horizontal air conduit 18 is provided with a one-way valve 19
and an air pump 24 detachably secured to the one-way valve 19 for
inflating the container if necessary. Also, the horizontal air
conduit 18 communicates with the vertical conduits 17 (FIG. 7).
As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the horizontal conduit 18 usually has
four bending areas or corners 21 wherein each bending area 21 has a
small diameter passage 22 for automatic bending while the
horizontal conduit 18 is inflated (FIG. 4). The horizontal conduit
18 can include at least three bends so that depending on the number
of bends, the inflated container has a numbered hedron. Preferably
the container of the present invention is a tetrahedron.
The vertical and horizontal air conduits 17 and 18 are formed by
heat-sealing layers such as the inner and outer plastic bag layers
or by a conventional manner.
In order to more easily self-stand the inflatable container, the
plastic bag 10 is provided with a quilt seal 23 along the four
corner edges during inflation thereof. The inflatable container of
the present invention can be folded along the quilt seal 23 during
inflating as shown in FIG. 5.
Referring in detail to FIG. 6, there is illustrated an additional
embodiment of an inflatable container 30 in accordance with the
present invention. The inflatable container 30 includes a plastic
bag 31 which is the same as the plastic bag 20 except for a lower
portion 33 which does not include a plurality of air conduits.
Therefore, when trash is put into the container 30 the lower
portion 33 of container 30 supports an upper portion 32 thereof,
and the container 30 forms a kind of rigid container.
Referring in detail FIG. 8, there is illustrated a third embodiment
of an inflatable container 40 in accordance with the present
invention. The inflatable container 40 includes the plastic bag 20
which is provided with a self-adhesive material 41 covered by a
protective strip 42 which prevents the self-adhesive material 41
from contacting and adhering to a surface while the container 40 is
being handled prior to being set in place such as against a wall,
the lower portion of a table, or the like.
Referring in detail to FIG. 9, there is illustrated a fourth
embodiment of an inflatable container 50 in accordance with the
present invention. The inflatable container 40 includes the plastic
bag 20 which is provided with a self-adhesive material 51 disposed
on an inside of the upper perimeter of the horizontal air conduit
18. Preferably, the self-adhesive material 41 is covered by a
protective strip 52 for protecting the self-adhesive material 41
from contacting and adhering to a surface. The self-adhesive
material and protective strip 52 are formed around about half of
the circumference the opening 16. Therefore, after the container 50
is used, for example, for packing, the opening 16 is sealed by
adhering the self-adhesive material 51 to the opposite outer
surface of the horizontal air conduit 18 as shown in a dotted line
drawing in FIG. 9.
The inflatable containers 10, 30, 40 and 50 of the present
invention operate as follows: As shown in FIGS. 1 and 7, upon
operating the air-pump 24, air is introduced into the horizontal
air conduit 18 through the one-way valve 21. The air flows in the
direction indicated by arrows B, C, and D from arrow A until the
container 10 is inflated. Because the plurality of vertical air
conduits are open at the bottom and closed at the top thereof, the
container is fully inflated so that the container self-stands
effectively.
Thus, the inflatable container 10 includes horizontal and vertical
air conduits to be inflated, whereby upon inflating, the container
10 self-stands from a folded position (FIG. 5) to a fully upright
position (FIG. 1) as a result of the support function of the
plurality of vertical inflated air conduits and the frame function
of the horizontally rectangular inflated air conduits by the
air-pumping action of the air pump 24 through the one-way valve
19.
The invention being thus described, it will be obvious that the
same may be varied in many ways. Such variations are not to be
regard as a departure from the spirit and scope of the invention,
and all such modifications as would be obvious to one skilled in
the art are intended to be included in the scope of the following
claims.
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